Marlese Durr, a professor of sociology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, is the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Feminist Lecturer Award from Sociologists for Women in Society. The society is an international organization of social scientists, including students, faculty, practitioners, and researchers, working together to improve the position of women within sociology and society in general.
“I am thrilled to help bring a firmer understanding to feminist issues, especially for women of color, but also to be counted alongside feminist scholars who continue to work on issues of importance globally,” said Professor Durr.
In addition to her faculty post at Wright State University, Professor Durr is a senior fellow of the Yale University Urban Ethnography Program and a research associate at the University of Albany’s Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities. Her research focuses on African American women in managerial positions in public institutions as well as specialized interests in labor markets, social networks, entrepreneurship, inner-city neighborhoods, and stressful life events for African American women. Professor Durr Durr has served as president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and for Sociologists for Women in Society.
Dr. Durr joined the faculty at Wright State University in 1994 and was promoted to full professor in 2008. She holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, master’s degrees in African American studies and sociology, and a Ph.D. in sociology, all from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System.